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Preventing Alzheimer's from developing is a goal of Raphael Kopan, Ph.D., professor of molecular biology and pharmacology at the Washington University School of Medicine. The moss plant (Physcomitrella patens) studied in the laboratory of Ralph S. Quatrano, Ph.D., Spencer T. Olin Professor and chair of the WUSTL biology department on the Danforth Campus, might inch Kopan toward that goal. Here's how.
The gene presenilin in mammals provides the catalytic activity for an enzyme called gamma secretase, which cleaves, or cuts, important proteins Notch, Erb4 and the amyloid precursor protein (APP), all key components of communication channels that cells use to arbitrate functions during development. Two genes occur in mammals in which mutations cause an earlier onset of Alzheimer's. One is APP, where a fragment of the protein accumulates in amyloid plaques, associated with the disease. Another common site for mutations is found in presenilin (PS) proteins. The enzyme gamma secretase contains PS and works to dispose of proteins stuck in the cellular membrane. This enzyme with PS at its core mediates two cellular decisions. One is to cut APP and as a byproduct, generate the bad peptide associated with Alzheimer's; the other is to cut the Notch protein in response to specific stimuli. Notch is then free to enter the nucleus of cells where it partakes in regulating normal gene expression. Without Notch activity, a mammal has no chance of living.
Notch is a part of short-range mammalian communication channel, and for years it has been known to have a working relationship with PS. However, Notch is absent in plant cells, and presenilin function in plants remained mysterious until Quatrano's post-doctoral researcher, Abha Khandelwal, Ph.D., arrived at Washington University and was interested in understanding signal transduction in plants. "When I searched the literature, the plant signal transduction pathways were not very well documented as are the mammalian counterparts such as Notch," said Khandelwal. "Meanwhile, my husband Dilip Chandu, Ph.D., was working in the Kopan lab interested in ways to study functions of presenilin without interference from its predominant substrate Notch."
This encouraged Khandelwal to search for the PS gene in the genomes of plants including the recently sequenced moss (Physcomitrella patens) genome, for which the Quatrano lab had access. In addition to the known Arabidopsis presenilin, she found the gene in Physcomitrella and asked, "What is PS doing in moss" Is it acting as an enzyme or does it have a different function" " http://www.medicalnewstoday.com
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The gene presenilin in mammals provides the catalytic activity for an enzyme called gamma secretase, which cleaves, or cuts, important proteins Notch, Erb4 and the amyloid precursor protein (APP), all key components of communication channels that cells use to arbitrate functions during development. Two genes occur in mammals in which mutations cause an earlier onset of Alzheimer's. One is APP, where a fragment of the protein accumulates in amyloid plaques, associated with the disease. Another common site for mutations is found in presenilin (PS) proteins. The enzyme gamma secretase contains PS and works to dispose of proteins stuck in the cellular membrane. This enzyme with PS at its core mediates two cellular decisions. One is to cut APP and as a byproduct, generate the bad peptide associated with Alzheimer's; the other is to cut the Notch protein in response to specific stimuli. Notch is then free to enter the nucleus of cells where it partakes in regulating normal gene expression. Without Notch activity, a mammal has no chance of living.
Notch is a part of short-range mammalian communication channel, and for years it has been known to have a working relationship with PS. However, Notch is absent in plant cells, and presenilin function in plants remained mysterious until Quatrano's post-doctoral researcher, Abha Khandelwal, Ph.D., arrived at Washington University and was interested in understanding signal transduction in plants. "When I searched the literature, the plant signal transduction pathways were not very well documented as are the mammalian counterparts such as Notch," said Khandelwal. "Meanwhile, my husband Dilip Chandu, Ph.D., was working in the Kopan lab interested in ways to study functions of presenilin without interference from its predominant substrate Notch."
This encouraged Khandelwal to search for the PS gene in the genomes of plants including the recently sequenced moss (Physcomitrella patens) genome, for which the Quatrano lab had access. In addition to the known Arabidopsis presenilin, she found the gene in Physcomitrella and asked, "What is PS doing in moss" Is it acting as an enzyme or does it have a different function" " http://www.medicalnewstoday.com
Omega-6 is in the shadow of omega-3, group says
The potential of omega-6 in the role of improving behaviour is overshadowed by the better-known omega-3 fatty acids, a research facility has said. http://www.nutraingredients.com
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